


Watch

by protectoroffaeries



Category: Critical Role (Web Series)
Genre: Bad Method of Coming Out, Keeping Watch, M/M, Plot What Plot/Porn Without Plot, Pre-Canon, References to Transphobia, Trans Character, Vaginal Fingering, but only vague references, except not really they’re a little distracted to properly keep watch, handjob, seriously don’t take cues from this fic in that regard
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-05-29
Updated: 2019-05-29
Packaged: 2020-03-27 13:55:25
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,223
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19014259
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/protectoroffaeries/pseuds/protectoroffaeries
Summary: Scanlan keeps watch for the first time.Vax sneaks up on him.Not that he’s complaining.





	Watch

**Author's Note:**

> both characters are men. there is traditionally female language used when describing the trans man’s genitals. one character does not disclose information about his genitals in an appropriate way. a warning if those are things you’re uncomfortable with.
> 
> if you are under 18, please do not read this fic

The first time Scanlan keeps watch for this newly-formed group of theirs, these S.H.I.T.s, he is alone. For four hours, he sits up, watching the half-moons rise high in the sky. The further one looks like an echo of the closer, and he wonders idly about the stories they would tell of each other if either of them could speak. They would probably sing scathing songs of envy; Scanlan knows something about being in the spotlight, and he also knows about being in others’ shadows. Both positions suck. Scanlan prefers the sweet spot, right in the middle.

Keeping watch is boring, but Scanlan supposes boring is better than the alternative. Yesterday was a long day, full of combat. A nasty mess of trolls, to be precise. The rest of his new friends a bit better at fighting than he is— gods help him if he ever gets on the bad side of Grog or Percy— so he was elected to keep first watch in order for them to get their rest. 

At the thought of his worn friends— and really, they’re only allies at this point, but people warm to the term  _ friends _ faster than something as tactical and impersonal as  _ allies _ — Scanlan glances over his shoulder to make sure nothing is stalking them from behind. He sees no movement in the bushes around where they’re camped, and beyond that, the surrounding trees are equally still. He counts the sleeping bodies of his friends: one and two are Vex and Vax, piled against that damn bear, three is Keyleth, four is Percy, five is Grog, and on top of Grog is, six, Pike. 

Pike, who looks much smaller without all the heavy chainmail weighing her down, though Scanlan can see the definition of her arm muscles from here. Scanlan thought she would like him, especially from Grog’s descriptions of her as clever and fun-loving, but she seems immune to his charms, somehow. Vex— Scanlan thinks it was Vex, at least, though it might’ve been Vax, the twins get a little confusing when they’re both talking at once— said something about Scanlan being an  _ asshole,  _ and apparently that is why Pike doesn’t like him. But Scanlan isn’t more of an asshole than any of the rest of them, and what’s more, he’s  _ funny _ . Usually that supersedes everything else, but apparently it isn’t important to Pike.

Scanlan needs to find out what  _ is  _ important to Pike. Then maybe she’ll start to do more than roll her eyes when he flirts with her.

As Scanlan contemplates what Pike might look for in a man, there is a sudden rustle in the trees beside him. He starts, jumping to his feet, and then he fumbles for the simple dagger that Vax gave him. Once he has two hands gripping the hilt, he whispers, “Is someone there?” 

No response. No further sounds. The trees don’t move again. 

Scanlan slowly settles, though he keeps the dagger in one hand, gripping it tightly enough that his knuckles turn deathly white. He looks around in all directions, but he doesn’t see any signs of life, except his friends. He lets out a sigh, a breath of relief, and mumbles to himself: “Calm down, Shorthalt, it’s just a squirrel.”

“Is that all I am to you?” comes a voice out of the tree, and Scanlan scrambles backwards, brandishing the dagger in front of him. He opens his mouth to yell to his friends, but then  _ Vax _ slinks out of the darkness like liquid tar pouring into a mold. He laughs as he moves into the moonlight, where Scanlan can see him a little, though he’s still hard to make out. 

“But you— you were—” Heartbeat thrumming in his ears, Scanlan glances over in the direction of Trinket. Vex is still curled up in the bear’s fur, and where Vax once was… is a black cloak, piled roughly in the shape of a half-elf. Huh. How long ago had Vax moved? Scanlan is unsettled by the thought of Vax watching him from the trees, though if it’s some sort of test to see if Scanlan is sharp enough to be on guard duty, he wouldn’t be necessarily upset if he was deemed unfit to guard them. Then again, that might make the group question his usefulness— what use is a little gnome who can’t fight or guard?— and  _ that _ would not be good. 

“Deep breaths, man, I’m just fucking with you.” Vax sits down beside Scanlan and pats him on the shoulder. 

“I— you— I’m pretty sure I shat a little,” Scanlan tells him, which isn’t true, but it  _ does _ make Vax laugh again. Making people laugh is certainly a way to make himself useful. “Have you come to relieve me of my duties, then?” 

Vax is little more than a shadow, with his dark clothes and his dark features, but Scanlan can see the goofy grin that splits his face, the way his teeth reflect the low light. “If I made you shit yourself,” he says, “haven’t I already relieved you of your—”

“Alright, alright,” Scanlan interrupts, because he doesn’t want to give Vax the satisfaction of making that terrible joke that he absolutely should’ve thought of himself. 

“What, you’re the only one allowed to make jokes?”

“Yes. Your job is to pick locks and look pretty,  _ mine _ is to make jokes.” 

“Then I think you’re infringing on my expertise,” Vax teases.

Scanlan almost counters by saying he can’t pick a lock, but then it occurs to him that Vax was actually  _ flirting, _ though Scanlan thinks it’s more of a joke than a legitimate come-on _.  _ Still, for some reason, that surprises him. Makes him pause. Maybe because Vax doesn’t flirt in any capacity, very often, not nearly as much as his sister does (unless Scanlan is mixing them up again).  So what he ends up saying is, “When did you get clever?”

Vax waves the question away. “I’ve always been clever enough. But we all look like witless fools next to Percival. Kind of like how I’ve always been telling jokes, but none of us can drum up a laugh like you.” He pauses, and Scanlan thinks he sounds a bit wistful, but Vax continues before he can comment. “But I think what I do best is a little more practical than cleverness or humor.”

“Oh, you do?” Scanlan coats the question with a hefty dose of skepticism.

Vax sticks his chin out, defiant as if he knew he was inviting a playful argument. Which he probably did. Then he leans in close, so close that Scanlan can feel his breath on his face, and says, “Where would you be if I didn’t scout ahead and unlock doors?” 

“Probably still playing music in taverns, which, might I add, pays well and doesn’t put me at risk of getting arrested,” Scanlan quips drily, though the thought of going back to taverns now that he has the S.H.I.T.s is unappealing, to say the least. He makes more money with them, even if they do have to camp in the woods when they travel between cities or into rural areas to fulfil their contracts. And it’s nice to have a consistent group of people around, even if he doesn’t fully trust them yet. He hasn’t had that since Dr. Dranzel’s troop.

“You don’t like the risk of following me?” Vax sits up, out of Scanlan’s personal space, but he doesn’t go far. Scanlan could still reach out and touch his face, if he so desired. It’s strange, but from what Scanlan knows about Vax, it’s not beyond him to be a bit overly affectionate and low boundaried. Still, Scanlan has to wonder what put him in this mood. Is it because it’s night? Is he bored? Is he trying to lure Scanlan into joining him for his watch?

“Oh,  _ contraire _ , baby,” Scanlan says, because he’s curious, and he’s not one to back down from banter, whether it be flirty, serious, or something in between, “Why do you think I’m still here? I  _ love  _ the risk.”

Vax doesn’t return with another tease, like Scanlan expects. He returns his hand on Scanlan’s cheek, with the question  _ can I kiss you?  _ barely spoken, and when Scanlan gives an aborted little half-nod, squeeks out most of  _ sure—-  _ then Vax returns with his  _ mouth, _ with his half-parted lips on Scanlan’s lips, and Scanlan only lets himself sit in shock for a second, because  _ fuck him  _ if he’s going to waste a makeout session with his handsome companion. 

Vax’s kiss is a little off-center, a little messy, and a little confused, and if Scanlan had to guess, that would be because he’s never kissed someone so small. In Scanlan’s experience, that isn’t uncommon for bigger people. So he cups Vax’s chin in one hand, and, as he strokes Vax’s cheek with his thumb, gently guides him into a proper kiss, one where they can both open their mouths a little wider and let their tongues mingle in the negative space between them. 

Just as he initiated the kiss, Vax also ends it, though when he pulls back, he doesn’t go far. Scanlan keeps his hand on Vax’s cheek, and he looks into those dark eyes. If Scanlan had to guess, he would say that Vax’s pupils are blown wide, but the truth is that his irises are such a deep brown that Scanlan can’t distinguish between the color and the absence of color, not in the moonlight. 

“You should’ve said something. I would’ve fucked you in one of those feather beds at the inn in Stilben.” Vax is much cheaper than a,  _ ahem,  _ lady-of-favors, as Grog likes to say. Better looking than half of them, too. And what’s a little sex between allies, anyway? Vax may not be Pike Trickfoot, but he’s probably a good time.

Scanlan would’ve volunteered to take watch ages ago if he’d known  _ this  _ was going to happen.

“You were an asshole in Stilben.”

“Your sister says I’m still an asshole.”  _ And so does Pike, apparently,  _ but Scanlan doesn’t want to mention her now. He’s afraid that saying her name aloud may break the spell both of them are under, even though Vax doesn’t strike him as the jealous type. Still. Not worth the risk. Ha.  _ The risk.  _

“You are,” says Vax, but he doesn’t elaborate, only kisses Scanlan again. This time, he’s more deliberate, and his kiss is open-mouth and inviting, warm and filling, the kind of kiss that sends heat humming under Scanlan’s skin. Scanlan grabs at Vax with his other hand and catches a handful of long hair, and when Scanlan tugs on this prize, Vax keens. Scanlan swallows the sound, lets it fill him, and  _ oh,  _ rubs his thighs together when feels the first hints of wetness between his legs.

Vax  _ moves _ with this kiss. He presses into Scanlan space until Scanlan is half on his back in the dirt, and one of his hands rests on Scanlan’s hip, the other braced in the dirt beside Scanlan’s torso. His body is so close, so tense, pressed against Scanlan in all the right places in order to rile him up— their legs tangle and they knock knees, their chests align from collarbones to, to Scanlan’s waist, although Vax’s torso goes on for a little longer. 

Scanlan opens his legs without much thought beyond  _ getting them out of the way _ , and Vax slides between them. He eases his hand down from Scanlan’s hip to his thigh, and the he hooks Scanlan’s thigh around his waist. Scanlan follows that lead, lifts his other leg until both of his heels are digging into Vax’s back. Vax bucks forward, and Scanlan feels the drag of his cock across his pussy, even through the layers of clothing between them. That sensation, though it wrenches  shallow, muffled moans out of them both, brings Scanlan back to his senses, and he uncurls his fingers from Vax’s hair so that he can push his palm against Vax’s chest, to push him back,  _ off— _

Vax obliges immediately, pulling off of Scanlan and giving him a little bit of space, though he can’t go far with Scanlan’s legs still bracketed around him. Scanlan eases his heels’ grip on Vax’s back and pulls his legs off of Vax’s narrow hips. Then he falls flat on his back into the dirt; thankfully, most of his body was already on the ground. 

“Something wrong?” pants Vax, sounding deliciously and breathlessly wrecked. 

“Let me give you a handjob.” It isn’t an answer to Vax’s question, but hopefully, it is enough to distract him. 

Vax studies his face for a handful of seconds, and Scanlan does his best to look forthright. It isn’t that there is anything  _ wrong,  _ per se. It’s only that he hasn’t shared his, ah, little secret with the group yet. He doesn’t think they’ll care, not really— Dranzel’s troop didn’t care, most of the people Scanlan’s had sex with haven’t cared, beyond a few ladies expressing disappointment with his lack of a cock. But every so often, someone  _ does  _ care, for this stupid reason or that idiotic sentiment, and it— well. Scanlan likes the S.H.I.T.s. He would hate to lose them over something as trivial as what is (or isn’t) in his pants. 

Hopefully, Vax was too distracted to tell anything was amiss in the split-second he spent rubbing off against Scanlan’s crotch? Or, or maybe he’ll assume Scanlan has a small dick, that’s fine, he  _ is  _ a gnome. Whatever, the best course of action is definitely to touch Vax’s cock. One, because he wants to, and two, because it’ll keep Vax from thinking.

This is a stark reminder as to why he usually confines his escapades to brothels or towns he’s only passing through. Then he doesn’t have to worry about whether people  _ care.  _

Fuck, Scanlan was just supposed to be keeping watch. 

“Wha—”

Scanlan tugs on the waistband of Vax’s pants. “You want to get off, right?”

“Yeah, but not if you don’t want to.” Vax sounds concerned, and when Scanlan looks up at his face, his expression is pulled tight with confusion and worry. Oh, that’s sweet. Unnecessary. But sweet.

“I don’t like being on my back in the dirt,” Scanlan lies, or rather, Scanlan misdirects, because that’s not entirely a lie. 

“Oh, sorry.” 

“It’s alright.” Scanlan takes a deep breath and glances in the direction of their group. He and Vax must not be as loud as Scanlan feels like they are, because it seems like everyone is still asleep. Is it rude to fuck next to your sleeping friends? Probably. Although, if any of them did wake up, they might not even see anything scandalous, what with the distance and the underbrush. 

Scanlan looks at Vex, and then at Pike. It’s still in both of their best interests not to wake anyone up. 

Scanlan turns his gaze back to Vax, and he’s a little startled at the intensity of Vax’s stare, of his eyes on Scanlan. It doesn’t seem like Vax has spared half a thought for the group at all. One track mind. Scanlan can dig that. “Let me touch your cock?” 

“Yeah, yes, let me…” Vax pushes Scanlan’s hands away from his waistband, and then, in one fluid motion, he pulls his pants and smallclothes down around his thighs. His cock curves, half-hard, toward his stomach, and Scanlan can only make it out in the shades of grey afforded by his darkvision. It’s pretty enough, though, darkened toward the head and already beading with precum on top. It’s funny, because Vax seems exactly like the overeager type, and if his cock is any indication, Scanlan had him pegged.

Huh. Pegged Vax. Now  _ there’s  _ a fun thought.

Scanlan licks each of hands from palm to fingertips. He takes Vax’s cock and gives it a couple experimental jerks, which Vax arches into with an enthusiasm that makes Scanlan wonder when he last got off. Or maybe he’s always like this; that would also go with the overeagerness. 

Vax’s cock is— Scanlan doesn’t want to call it  _ small,  _ because he’s fucked other gnomes before, and halflings, and those are  _ small _ dicks, but they’re also proportional, and well. Vax’s cock is, proportionally, small for his size. He’s what, nearly six feet tall? Not that Scanlan cares, really, a half-elf’s small is enough for a gnome. Still, he can’t help but think that if Grog were giving this handjob, he could hold Vax’s cock in one hand and Vax probably wouldn’t reach across more than three of his fingers. 

It’s probably unfair to compare Vax to  _ Grog,  _ though. Grog is a giant, in every sense of the word. Hell, Grog’s cock is probably half of Scanlan’s height, unless he’s small for his size, too.

Vax thrusts into Scanlan’s fingers, which, unlike Grog’s, are not thick enough to outpace Vax’s cock. Scanlan takes control of the pace, slows the frantic and uneven thrusts that Vax worked in while Scanlan was still figuring out how he wanted to approach this. Vax is warm and silky under his grip, and Scanlan takes a moment to appreciate the weight of a cock in his hand, which he always considers a nice treat. He builds up his own rhythm, one that’s almost painfully slow and dragging for Vax, if the way Vax sinks his teeth into his lower lip is any indication. 

Scanlan works a hint of magic into his fingers with a subtle hum and tap, just enough that Vax can feel a slight vibration. Vax apparently  _ likes that,  _ because lets out a half-choked moan. It such a needy sound that it sends a strong pulses of heat between Scanlan’s leg. 

Scanlan pushes his luck and thumbs the head of Vax’s cock, dragging the pad of his finger over Vax’s slit. He wants another sweet sound, anything—

And Vax gives it to him, tosses his head back and whimpers, and Scanlan rewards him by speeding up a little. He stops a second to spit on his hands, to minimize the friction and maximize the actual pleasure, but honestly, Scanlan hopes that Vax likes a prickle of dryness, because there’s no way that spit is wet enough for complete comfort.

Scanlan makes a mental note to pick up some lube next time they’re in town.

Scanlan lavishes attention of Vax’s shaft, changes the grip of his fingers, the pressure of them from _barely-there_ _looseness_ to _a-little-too-tight_ and everything in between, and he works them, too, up and down, up and down in time with the beats that are imaginary, in his head.

Then, when Scanlan eventually decides to broaden his horizons, he readjusts his position so that he can hold Vax’s cock in one hand and reach for his balls with the other. Vax sucks in a deep breath as Scanlan cups him, but Scanlan works his other hand over the head of Vax’s cock, to— to, well, fuck, reassure him, Scanlan supposes. It isn’t like he’s planning to do something terrible with Vax’s family jewels, but he still looks up at Vax questioningly and waits for a nod of approval before continuing. 

Scanlan rolls Vax’s balls gently over his fingers, and Vax shudders, shudders violently enough that his cock stills in Scanlan’s other hand for a fraction of a second. Scanlan grins and curls his fingers, rubs his fingertips into the delicate skin of Vax’s sac.

_ “Scanlan—” _

“What, does it tickle?” 

“You’re an asshole,” Vax repeats, but there’s no bite behind it. “And if you don’t move, I’m going to cum on your face.”

“Go ahead, pretty boy.” 

_That_ remark does something for Vax; his eyes go wide, so wide that Scanlan can make out the whites, and it takes only another two pumps of Scanlan’s fist over the length of him, before Scanlan feels him tighten in his other hand, before he cums, as promised, on Scanlan’s face.

Scanlan closes his eyes and opens his mouth, though he doesn’t catch much semen on his tongue, most of it instead painting his face, and annoyingly, some of it gets in his hair. He feels thick globs start to run across his forehead, others down his cheeks, a bit off of his chin, and it’s warm and messy and on the whole, Scanlan is satisfied. Hair aside. He doesn’t like semen in his hair, really, but it comes with the territory.

He lets go of Vax and wipes around his eyes with the back of his hand. Then he blinks a few times and makes sure there’s nothing  _ in _ his eyes. 

“That was fucking fantastic,” breaths Vax, “thanks for letting me—” he doesn’t finish his sentence, but Scanlan gets the idea when Vax uses his index finger to wipe of his semen off of Scanlan’s hairline. Then he wipes his finger on his pants, and after some consideration, he pulls up his smallclothes and his pants, tucking away his cock. Scanlan’s sad to see it go. 

“Anytime,” Scanlan says, and he almost means it. “Well, I should get to bed…” He yawns for effect, but it’s not a façade. He really  _ is  _ exhausted, even if he mostly watched all the fighting that happened yesterday. It was still stressful, being on a battlefield. He’s going to need to masturbate before he can fall asleep, though. He can feel the heat beneath his skin that this encounter kicked up, the throbbing and roiling of his blood and magic in his veins, even if it’s not overwhelming now that they’re just talking. 

_ “Oh,”  _ Scanlan has never heard such a disappointed, punched-out  _ oh,  _ “oh, okay, I— but you don’t want me to get you off?” Vax glances down at Scanlan’s crotch, then looks up with that same confused expression he wore earlier, though thankfully, it’s less worried this time.

Scanlan starts to say he already came— maybe a little embarrassing, but he doesn’t think Vax would tell anyone, and he might take it as a compliment, besides— but then his eyes catch on Vax’s hands, on his long fingers, and Scanlan’s mind draws forth the memory of Vax twirling and balancing daggers on those fingers, of the  _ finesse _ in the work from Vax’s whole hand when he throws them, from the flick of his wrist to the timed light-loosening of his grip _ ,  _ and a half-elf’s hand is so much bigger than a gnome’s— those fingers rubbing his clit, curling in side of him— Scanlan clenches at the vivid thought— and the words choke off into nothing. 

“Scanlan? Are you alright?”

Scanlan closes his eyes without answering, which only makes the temptation swirl more clearly in his mind’s eye. Oh,  _ fuck it.  _ There’s a chance Vax doesn’t even care. And if he does care, Scanlan will handle it. Somehow. With his charm. 

“Scanlan?”

“You know what?” Scanlan snaps his eyes open. “I  _ do _ want you to get me off.”

Vax’s expression grows more concerned, which is frustrating, and he doesn’t move to touch Scanlan. “You’re sure? You didn’t seem all that enthusiastic at minute ago. ”

“I was thinking about it.”

“I don’t want you to feel—”

Scanlan raises one hand to interrupt him, and Vax kindly shuts ups. “I appreciate the concern. Really. But how about you give me your hand, and I’ll show you why I was deliberating.” 

Vax hesitates, as if he’s trying to figure out where Scanlan is going with this and coming up empty. Then he holds out his right hand, and Scanlan takes him by the wrist and guides him until his fingertips rest against the waistband of Scanlan’s pants.

Scanlan gives Vax a moment to pull back, but Vax doesn’t. He still looks confused, but there’s more curiosity in it now, which Scanlan takes as a good sign. He tugs on his pants, and through them, his smallclothes, and then he presses Vax’s hand into them.

“You can touch me,” Scanlan says, when Vax’s fingers don’t move. Parts of his hand are lightly brushing various parts of Scanlan, but Vax’s brow furrows like he still hasn’t figured out what  _ the catch _ is. “It’ll clear things up.”

Vax’s fingers twitch, and then they tentatively start to move, and Vax’s expression contorts into pure bewilderment as the pads of his fingers glide around Scanlan’s clit. Scanlan bites his lip at the spark that sends through him, but he’s still waiting for Vax to get with the program. 

Thankfully, Vax’s expression evens into a look of clarity a heartbeat later, and then he  _ laughs,  _ which Scanlan doesn’t know how to interpret. “That kind of theatricality was not— you could’ve just  _ said.” _

Scanlan slumps in relief, and then immediately straightens and puffs out his chest. “I’m a  _ bard.  _ We live for the theatrics.” 

Vax smiles. He has a nice enough smile, Scanlan notices, if shady half-elves are your type. Not to wide, not too toothy, and there is something reassuring about it. “It doesn’t matter, you know, to me. You’re the same guy. Scanlan, the music man.” 

Scanlan doesn’t say how much that means to him. It’s one thing to be physically vulnerable to someone, to have his hand down your pants for example, but emotionally? To let Vax know just  _ how  _ concerned he was? No, Scanlan can’t do that. He’s never been about to reveal that to anyone, let alone a guy he met last month. So all he says is, “Yeah, yeah, well anyway, you said you’d get me off, so you think you can do that before sunrise? I  _ do  _ want to sleep tonight.”

Vax rolls his eyes, but he moves his fingers, and that’s really the important part, isn’t it? Scanlan cants his hips to give Vax a better angle, and Vax gets on with it. He slides two of his fingers around Scanlan’s clit and applies pressure, and the slip of the calluses on his fingers make Scanlan sink his teeth into his lip hard enough to draw blood. No moaning. Can’t wake anyone up. But  _ fuck,  _ they have to do this again the next time they’re at an inn. 

Vax hammers on Scanlan’s clit without letting up or giving ground, which Scanlan appreciates. The heat that only suggested an orgasm a few minutes ago is now building rapidly, and it makes Scanlan squirm against Vax. His blood pounds in his ears and his skin is on just the right side of feverish, and that coiling of pleasure starts to stack. It doesn’t take long under such persistent and well-coordinated fingertips— and Vax has the finesse that Scanlan expected from him, even in this touch-and-go scenario of theirs. 

And then Scanlan’s breath is coming in pants, and he’s leaning on Vax and he’s bucking his hips as much as Vax will let him, which is annoyingly not much, and Vax is rubbing,  _ hard,  _ and it’s not pretty or danty or slow or romantic, but it’s certainly getting the job done— 

Vax stops.

_ “Son of a bitch.”  _

Vax grins, cheeky.  _ Fucking asshole.  _ Scanlan takes a deep breath, but his heart still rabbits in his chest, and he is  _ so close.  _

Vax’s fingers glide past Scanlan’s clit to tease in the slickness at his entrance. Vax presses his palm to Scanlan’s clit as he does so, like that blunt, distant stimulation is anything next to the precision and focus of his previous touches. 

“I hate you,” Scanlan hisses, voice quivering, as Vax pushes a finger inside of him. He arches to meet the damn finger, of course he does, and it slides in with barely any resistance, even as big as it is, because of how fucking wet he is now. Well, that, and Scanlan’s taken a few fingers from people bigger than him before.

Scanlan doesn’t mean it, not really. He mouths at the nearest stretch of Vax’s bare skin, a patch on the arm he’s bracing with, and drags his teeth along it. Vax’s arm quakes, a satisfying little shiver that doesn’t cause him to drop his own weight, but does throw off his rhythm. 

“Sure you do,” says Vax, grinning wider. 

“You’re the worst.” Vax’s finger starts to move, a little rocking motion, back and forth, that kicks up the pleasure again, rekindles it like a dying, wavering, sad little flame rescued.  _ “I  _ didn’t do this to  _ you.”  _

“I’m surprised _Scanlan Shorthalt_ can’t take a little teasing.” But Vax relents, twists his hand so that he can keep one finger inside and still thumb at Scanlan’s clit, which is what Scanlan craves the most. Penetration is nice and all, but it’s not exactly the path to a speedy orgasm. 

The pressure from Vax’s thumb enough, though; the broad pad of it covers Scanlan’s clit completely, and Vax quits his teasing and focuses his attention on being  _ useful.  _ That delicious pleasure returns with a fiery vengeance, building at double, no,  _ triple _ speed since Scanlan was already close. Scanlan cums less than a minute later, hips working against Vax, against his amazing fingers, the one rubbing his clit and the one thrusting gently inside of him.

Scanlan lets the orgasm wash over him, relishes in the mindlessness and the thoughtlessness of it, basks in the dull roar in his ears and the blankness in his vision, the wave of  _ feeling good  _ and nothing deeper that it bathes him in for a handful of precious seconds.

And then, too quickly, he’s coming down, panting softly against Vax. 

Vax has that look his face, the one Scanlan often sees in the mirror after getting someone else off, that secondhand satisfaction. “Still hate me?”

Scanlan pulls away from where he’s leaning on Vax to flip him the bird. “Fuck you.” 

“Oh, believe me, I’m into it, Shorthalt.”

_ That  _ piques Scanlan’s interest, but as the initial shock of his orgasm melts into a heady afterglow, Scanlan realizes how bone-tired he is. He yawns, as if on cue. “As fun as that sounds, I really do need to sleep.”

Vax nods. “Yeah, and I should keep watch. We’re probably lucky that nothing came around while we were… distracted.” He takes his hand out of Scanlan’s pants. He wipes his slick fingers in the grass without so much as a glance at them. He’s too busy glancing around at their surroundings, probably to double check that their screwing around didn’t cause them to overlook any threats.

“That, and,” Scanlan sneaks a peak in the direction of their friends. A few seconds of mental counting determines that S.H.I.T.s are all present, and it looks like they’re fast asleep exactly as they were when Scanlan checked on them last.

“Yeah, that would’ve been awkward.” 

Scanlan snaps his gaze back to Vax. Handsome Vax, who fucked around with him tonight and will probably do so again. He tries to think of some clever parting words and comes up, to his surprise and annoyance, with nothing, so after a few seconds of silence, he stands and gives a curt nod. “Goodnight, then.”

“Goodnight, Scanlan.” Vax winks, and his wink isn’t as smooth or heart-shattering as his sister’s, wouldn’t persuade a merchant to drop their prices, but it does enough.

Scanlan feels a very strange warmth in his chest, tight and unyielding, all the way back to his tent,  the whole time he washes away half-dried semen, and until he falls asleep.


End file.
